Conventional load-lifting and load-carrying vehicles utilize their lifting mechanisms to also carry loads, which are generally positioned in front of the front axle of the vehicle prior to lifting. Once lifted, the loads are also carried in front of the front tires.
When dealing with heavy loads, for example steel billets or slabs, this substantially limits the amount of weight that the vehicle can lift and carry without tipping forward. This situation is aggravated the further the load and the lifting mechanism extend in front of the vehicle. Moreover, when attempting to transport such a lifted load the vehicle is even more likely to tip forward as it encounters bumps in the road, uneven terrain, swinging or shifting of loads, and so on.
To prevent tipping, such vehicles are required to have a rather long wheelbase, to have a substantial dead vehicle weight, and to carry a substantial amount of ballast in order to increase their moments counteracting tipping, both when lifting and transporting heavy loads. Accordingly, a substantial amount of the weight being moved by the vehicle is not the payload. This generally makes the vehicle unwieldly long or unduly heavy and consequently unsuitable for anything except for lifting and transporting heavy loads for short distances.
Additionally, the amount of weight that the vehicle can transport is limited to the maximum amount the vehicle can lift at any one time, which is dependent on both the strength of the lifting mechanism and most importantly the moment counteracting tipping of the vehicle. Moreover, the lifting mechanisms of such vehicles are subjected to strains and fatigue as a result of having to support the dead and dynamic weight during the transporting operations.
Without carrying a great deal of ballast to prevent tipping, these conventional vehicles have limited capabilities when attempting to lift a maximum load. As a result, the vehicle must be driven relatively close to the load in order to reach the load to be lifted. Similarly, the vehicle must be substantially centered in the lateral direction relative to the load since the load cannot be laterally adjusted when lifted. Accordingly, such vehicles are limited in their flexibility when attempting to secure and manipulate a load.